Servers in Minneapolis Average $28/Hour, MRA Survey Says

By Laura Michaels

The Pathway to $15 campaign released the results March 27 of a wage survey that shows tipped restaurant employees in Minneapolis average $28.56 an hour based on their hourly wage and tips. The survey also showed that cooks average $13.89 an hour and that support employees make $12.64 an hour.

The average number of hours worked per week is 19.1 for tipped employees, 20.7 for support employees, and 31.2 for cooks.

“This survey proves what we as servers already know. Tipped restaurant employees in Minneapolis are making well above $15 an hour on average,” said Sarah Norton, a six-year Minneapolis server who leads Service Industry Staff for Change, in a press release. “City leaders should focus on giving a raise to the cooks and support employees while preserving the jobs and pay structure for tipped employees.”

Pathway to $15 formed earlier this year in response to the Minneapolis City Council's consideration of a $15 local minimum wage and Mayor Betsy Hodges' statements against recognizing tips as part of the total taxable income.

The survey, conducted by the Minnesota Restaurant Association, received information on wages from October 2016 from 72 Minneapolis restaurant locations from around the city such as Borough, D. Brian's Deli and Pizza Luce with a variety of service models including casual, counter service, and fine dining. They range from having zero tipped employees to having as many as 85 tipped employees. These figures cover 3,458 employees —including 1,038 cooks, 767 support employees, and 1,653 tipped employees—who collectively worked more than 319,400 hours during the month of October.

Participating restaurants were asked to separate their data into three categories: cooks, non-tipped support staff, and tipped employees. The information is based on employee wage data from October 2016 as reported to the IRS.

“Tip recognition as part of the citywide $15 minimum wage proposal is absolutely vital. The consequences of moving to $15 an hour for tipped employees without recognizing tips will hurt the multitude of servers and bartenders in this city. The result will be a reduction in working hours, fewer jobs, or the elimination of tipping altogether. Our jobs and livelihood are at stake as city leaders consider this proposal,” added Norton.

The restaurant association said the report "refutes" figures in a survey done by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics—and cited by Hodges—that indicated that servers earned $9.04 on average compared to cooks who average $11.71 an hour.

Below is a list of more than 100 Minneapolis restaurant locations supporting the Pathway to $15 campaign. The restaurants listed with an asterisk were participants in the wage survey.